Communal office space on demand: High Rise Group Executive Suites and Offices offers shortand long-term spaces for professionals and events.

• Author: McKinley, Karen
• Position: BUSINESS TRAVEL

With more businesses being Internet-based, or entrepreneurs and groups coming from outside Sudbury needing short-term space to work on projects, there is a need to have a place for them to meet and conduct business but keep costs down.

There's a place in the south end of Sudbury catering to the need for a short-term meeting and office space, available for as little as a few hours or more long-term stays, which includes comforts like a coffee lounge and communal kitchen with a dining room.

High Rise Group Executive Suites and Offices in Sudbury is open to almost any need for shortterm spaces, offering everything from small offices, to a conference room that fits around 40 people.

Co-owner Karen Hourtovenko is a nurse practitioner and counsellor who owns the building with her husband. They started High Rise Group during a slow com mercial real estate market in the city, which made selling difficult. They decided to market the building as a place for businesses that don't need as much space to operate.

"They may not have the equipment, or are international and don't need as much physical space, and those looking to downsize in terms of space, but want to get out of their home and have a space somewhere that looks professional," she said.

Hourtovenko explained they have a variety of office spaces, from small, one- or two-person offices to executive offices, complete with desks, computers and Internet connection available for rent for a negotiable amount of time--whatever the needs of the client. All of them, she said, have a professional look needed to re flect a business' image.

She and her husband saw a need for a place where business owners could meet and hold conferences.

"We call it a co-working space, as opposed to a lease, which feels cold and impersonal," she said. "Co-working space is about bringing people together. Having spaces where they can co-work together, while at the same time having their own spaces."

Hourtovenko explained this model of sharing space allows people to come rent space for as long as they need, rather than be locked into a lease for months, or years.

The amenities include a reception area, Wi-Fi, complimentary parking, 24-hour access, and scanning and...